THE  REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM 


REVISED  SPEECH 

OF 

HON.  E.  G.  SPAULDING,  OF  NEW  YORK* 

DELIVERED  AT 

BUFFALO  AND  WASHINGTON, 

AT  MEETINGS  HELD  TO  RATIFY  THE  NOMINATION  OF 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN, 

FOR  PRESIDENT  AND  VICE  PRESIDENT. 

- 0 - 

Republican  Platform  adopted  by  the  Chi-  I  countenanced  a  threat  of  disunion,  so  often 
cago  Convention,  May  17,  1860.  j  made  by  Democratic  members  of  Congress 

-  !  withoi  t  rebuke  and  with  applause  from  their 

Resolved,  Tkaff^ve, the  delegated  representa-  political  associates;  and  we  denounce  those 
tives  of  the  Republican  Electors  of  the  United  threats  of  disunion,  in  case  of  a  popular  over¬ 
states,  in  Convention  assembled,  in  the  dis-  throw  of  their  ascendency,  as  denying  the  vital 
charge  of  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  constituents  principles  of  a  free  Government,  and  as  an 
and  our  coun  ry,  unite  in  the  following  declara-  avowal  of  contemplated  treason,  which  it  is  the 
tions  :  imperative  duty  of  an  indignant  people  strongly 

First.  That  the  history  of  the  naiion  during  to  rebuke  and  forever  silenoe. 
the  last  four  years  has  fully  established  the  pro-  j  Fourth.  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of 
priety  and  necessity  of  the  organization  and  the  rig  hts  of  the  States,  and  especially  the  right 
perpetuation  of  the  Republican  party,  and  that  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own  do- 
the  causes  which  called  it  into  existence  are  mestic  institutions,  according  to  its  own  judg- 
permanent  in  their  nature,  and  now,  more  than  ment  exclusively,  is  essential  to  that  balance 
ever  before,  demand  its  peaceful  and  constitu-  of  pow  er  on  which  the  perfection  and  endu- 
tional  triumph.  ranee  of  our  political  faith  depends ;  and  we 

Second,  ihat  the  maintenance  of  the  princi-  denoui  ce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force 
pies  promulgated  iu  the  Declaration  ot  Inde-  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under  what 
pendence,  and  embodied  in  the  Federal  Consti-  pretex;,  as  among  the  gravest  of  crimes, 
tution,  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  our  Fij  h.  That  the  present  Democratic  Ad- 
republican  institutions  ;  that  the  Federal  Con-  ministration  has  far  exceeded  our  v/orst  appre- 
stitution,  the  rights  of  the  States,  and  the  Union  hensious  in  its  measureless  subserviency  to  the 
of  the  States,  must  and  shall  be  preserved  ;  and  exactions  of  a  sectional  interest,  as  is  especially 
that  we  reasseit  “these  truths  to  be  self-evi-  evident  iu  its  desperate  exertions  to  force  the 
dent,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  infamous  Lecompton  Constitution  upon  the 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  un-  protesting  people  of  Kansas — in  construing  the 
alienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life, lib-  personal  relation  between  master  and  servant 
erty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  to  involve  an  unqualified  property  in  persons — 
secure  these  rights,  Governments  are  instituted  in  its  attempted  enforcement  everywhere,  on 
among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  land  and  sea,  through  the  intervention  of  Con- 
the  consent  of  the  governed.”  1  gress  and  the  Federal  courts,  of  the  extreme 

Third.  That  to  the  Union  of  the  States  this  pretensions  of  a  purely  local  interest,  and  in  its 
nation  owes  its  unprecedented  increase  in  popu-  general  and  unvarying  abuse  of  the  power  ia- 
lation  ;  its  surprising  development  of  material  trusted  to  it  by  a  confiding  people, 
resources;  its  rapid  augmentation  of  wealth;  Sixth.  That  the  people  justly  view  with  alarm 
its  happiness  at  borne  and  its  honor  abroad;  the  ree.dess  extravagance  which  pervades  every 
aud  we  bold  in  abhorrence  all  schemes  for  dis-  department  of  the  Federal  Government;  that 
union,  come  from  whatever  source  they  may;  a  return  to  rigid  economy  and  accountability  is 
and  we  congratulate  the  country  that  no  Re-  indispensable  to  arrest  the  system  of  plunder 
publican  member  of  Congress  has  uttered  or  1  of  the  public  Treasury  by  favored  partisans  j 


2 


while  the  recent  startling  developments  of  fraud 
and  corruption  at  the  Federal  metropolis  show 
that  an  entire  change  of  Administration  is  im¬ 
peratively  demanded. 

Seventh.  That  the  new  dogma  that  the  Con¬ 
stitution  of  its  own  force  carries  slavery  into 
any  or  all  of  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States,  is  a  dangerous  political  heresy,  at  vari¬ 
ance  with  the  explicit  provisions  of  that  instru¬ 
ment  itself,  with  cotemporaneous  exposition, 
sind  with  legislative  and  judicial  precedent;  is 
revolutionary  in  its  tendency,  and  subversive 
of  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  country. 

Eighth.  That  the  normal  condition  of  all  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  is  that  of  Free¬ 
dom  ;  that  as  our  republican  fathers,  when  they 
had  abolished  slavery  in  all  our  national  terri¬ 
tory,  ordained  that  no  person  should  be  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law,  it  becomes  our  duty,  by  legislation,  when¬ 
ever  such  legislation  is  necessary,  to  maintain 
this  provision  of  the  Constitution  against  all  at¬ 
tempts  to  violate  it;  and  we  deny  the  authority 
of  Congress,  of  a  Territorial  Legislature,  or  of 
any  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to  sla¬ 
very  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States. 

Ninth.  That  we  brand  the  recent  reopening 
of  the  African  slave  trade,  under  the  cover  of 
our  national  flag,  aided  by  perversions  of  judi¬ 
cial  power,  as  a  crime  against  humanity,  a 
burning  shame  to  our  country  and  age  ;  atid  we 
call  upon  Congress  to  take  prompt  and  efficient 
measures  for  the  total  and  tinal  suppression  of 
that  execrable  traffic. 

Tenth.  That  in  the  recent  vetoes  by  their 
Federal  Governors  of  the  acts  of  the  Legisla¬ 
tures  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  prohibiting  sla¬ 
very  in  those  Territories,  we  find  a  practical 
illustration  of  the  boasted  Democratic  principles 
of  non-intervention  and  popular  sovereignty, 
embodied  in  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  and 
a  denunciation  of  the  deception  and  fraud  in¬ 
volved  therein. 

Eleventh.  That  Kansas  should  of  right  be 
immediately  admitted  as  a  State  under  the  Con¬ 
stitution  recently  formed  and  adopted  by  her 
people,  and  accepted  by  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives. 

Twelfth.  That  while  providing  revenue  for 
the  support  of  the  General  Government  by  du¬ 
ties  upon  imports,  sound  policy  requires  such 
an  adjustment  of  these  duties  as  to  encourage 
the  development  of  the  industrial  interest  of  the 
whole  country;  and  we  commend  that  policy  of 
national  exchanges  which  secures  to  the  work¬ 
ing  men  liberal  wages,  to  agriculture  remuner¬ 
ating  prices,  to  mechanics  and  manufacturers 
an  adequate  reward  for  their  skill,  labor,  and 
enterprise,  and  to  the  nation  commercial  pros¬ 
perity  and  independence. 

Thirteenth.  That  we  protest  against  any  sale 
or  alienation  to  others  of  the  public  lands  held 
by  actual  settlers,  and  against  any  view  of  the 
free  homestead  policy  which  regards  the  settlers 
a3  paupers  or  supplicants  for  public  bounty ;  and 


j  we  demand  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  com¬ 
plete  and  satisfactory  homestead  measure  which 
j  has  already  passed  the  House. 

Fourteenth.  That  the  Republican  party  is  cp- 
|  posed  to  any  change  in  our  naturalization  laws, 
or  any  -State  legislation  by  which  the  rights  of 
citizenship  hitherto  accorded  to  immigrants 
from  foreign  lauds  shall  be  abridged  or  im¬ 
paired  ;  and  in  favor  of  giving  a  full  and  effi¬ 
cient  protection  to  the  rights  of  all  classes  of 
citizens,  whether  native  or  naturalized,  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 

Fifteenth.  That  the  appropriations  by  Con¬ 
gress  for  river  and  harbor  improvements  of  a 
national  character,  required  for  the  accommo¬ 
dation  and  security  of  an  existing  commerce, 
are  authorized  by  the  Constitution  and  justified 
by  an  obligation  of  the  Government  to  protect 
the  lives  and  property  of  its  citizens. 

Sixteenth.  That  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean  is  imperatively  demanded  by  the  in¬ 
terests  of  the  whole  country  ;  that  the  Federal 
Government  ought  to  render  immediate  and 
efficient  aid  in  its  construction ;  and  that,  as  pre¬ 
liminary  thereto,  a  daily  overland  mail  should 
be  promptly  established. 

Seventeenth.  Finally,  having  thus  set  forth 
our  distinctive  principles  an^views,  we  invite 
the  co-operation  of"  -all  citizens,  however  differ¬ 
ing  on  other  questions,  who  substantially  agree 
with  us  in  their  affirmance  and  support. 

Remarks  of  Mr.  Spaulding1. 

It  is  very  gratifying,  fellow-citizens,  to  wit¬ 
ness  the  moral  force  of  so  large  an  assemblage 
of  intelligent  meu  in  the  capital  of  the  natiou. 
I  am  gratified  to  see  that  free  speech  is  tolera¬ 
ted  here  to-night.  It  augurs  well  of  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  the  Republican  cause.  I  congratulate 
you  and  the  country  that  order  reigns  here  to¬ 
night,  and  that  we  may  here,  in  the  city  of 
Washington — the  common  ground  of  all  the 
States — advocate  the  principles  of  republican 
liberty. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  attend  the  Repub¬ 
lican  Convention  at  Chicago,  on  the  16th  inst. 
The  Convention  was  composed  of  able  and  up¬ 
right  men — indeed,  I  may  say  it  was  composed 
of  some  of  the  purest  and  best  men  in  the 
country.  It  was  one  of  the  most  talented  Con¬ 
ventions  ever  held  in  this  country.  Full  dele¬ 
gations  assembled  from  all  the  Northern  States, 
and  from  a  number  of  the  Southern  States. 
The  Convention  was  composed  of  four  hundred 
and  sixty-six  members,  met  together  to  per¬ 
form  a  patriotic  and  responsible  duty. 

The  State  of  New  York  sent  there  a  unani¬ 
mous  delegation  of  seventy  good  and  true  men 
to  speak  for  her  in  that  great  assemblage  of 
Republican  freemen.  Their  first  choice  for 
President  was  that  patriotic  and  experienced 
statesman,  William  H.  Reward,  known  to  the 
world  as  the  friend  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of 
man.  They  urged  his  selection  with  firmness 


s 


and  dignity,  as  a  nomination  fit  to  be  made.  I 
co-operated  with  this  delegation  to  secure  the 
nomination  of  Gov.  Seward,  who  is  my  personal 
and  political  friend.  He  wa3  my  first  choice. 
He  was  the  choice  of  his  native  State.  His 
friends  were  warm  and  zealous  in  his  behalf. 
He  was  their  chosen  leader,  who  had  stood 
firm  at  all  times — the  foremost  advocate  of  the 
Republican  platform.  The  shafts  of  his  ene¬ 
mies  had  been  heaped  upon  his  devoted  head 
for  more  than  twelve  years  ;  but  during  all  this 
time  he  stood  at  his  post,  unyielding,  battling 
for  the  right,  and  uncompromising  as  the  great 
principles  of  liberty  upon  which  the  Republi¬ 
can  party  is  based  are  enduring  and  eternal. 

While  thus  advocating  the  claims  of  Gov. 
Seward  to  a  nomination,  we  did  not  detract  at 
all  from  the  merits  of  Republican  candidates 
presented  from  other  States.  We  v/ent  to  the 
Convention  to  advocate  affirmatively  the  merits 
of  the  favorite  sou  of  New  York,  not  to  under¬ 
value  the  services  of  other  true  men  in  the  Re¬ 
publican  party.  The  merits  as  well  as  avail¬ 
ability  of  the  several  candidates  were  freely  dis¬ 
cussed,  and  after  a  full  and  free  interchange  of 
views  and  feelings,  the  balloting  commenced. 
On  the  third  ballot,  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illi¬ 
nois,  a  true  and  able  Republican,  received  a 
majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  and  was  chosen 
the  standard-bearer  of  the  Republican  party  in 
this  most  important  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 
Government. 

The  moment  that  a  majority  of  the  Conven¬ 
tion  declared  in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  uni¬ 
ted  delegation  from  New  York,  through  their 
chairman,  Mr.  Evarts,  moved  to  make  the  nom¬ 
ination  unanimous.  The  action  of  the  Conven¬ 
tion  was  harmonious  throughout,  and  the  nom¬ 
ination  was  received  with  great  applause  by 
the  assembled  multitude. 

All  due  respect  was  paid  to  New  York  as  to 
the  choice  of  Vice  President;  and  when  she 
indicated  a  willingness  to  go  for  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  an  eminent  citizen  of  Maine,  he  was 
selected,  with  great  unanimity,  as  the  choice 
of  the  Convention  for  Vice  President 

I  admire  William  H.  Seward  for  his  genius 
and  high  social  qualities,  for  his  exalted  states¬ 
manship,  and  his  fitness  to  discharge  the  du¬ 
ties  of  any  position  he  may  be  called  upon  to 
fill.  The  people  of  New  York  love  and  honor 
William  H.  Seward.  His  friends  everywhere 
admire  his  steadiness  of  purpose,  and  devotion 
to  principle  in  this  great  struggle  to  preserve 
the  inalienable  rights  of  man  ;  and  they  will 
continue  to  love  and  cherish  him  ;  but  while 
cherishing  William  H.  Seward,  they  will  not 
lose  sight  of  the  cause  in  which  we  are  en¬ 
gaged. 

Abraham  Lincoln  is  an  able,  upright,  and 
faithful  representative  of  the  principles  em¬ 
bodied  in  the  Republican  platform.  He  has 
become  the  chosen  standard-bearer  of  our  , 
party.  He  is  worthy  of  our  support  and  confi-  ! 
dence.  I  shall  give  him  a  cordial  and  efficient » 


support.  The  people  of  the  district  I  repre¬ 
sent — old  Erie  county — supporting  him  as  they 
do  with  great,  unanimity,  will  give  him  not  ess 
than  4,000  majority.  The  State  of  New  York  is 
already  enlisted  in  the  contest.  William  H. 
Seward,  ever  self-sacrificing  for  the  good  of  the 
cause,  has  written  a  noble  letter  endorsing  the 
nominations  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin.  This 
great  State  will  give  them  her  thirty-five 
electoral  votes  by  a  majority  of  not  less  than 
40,000,  The  American  party  is  coming  in 
nobly  to  the  support  of  the  Republican  plat¬ 
form  and  the  ticket  nominated  at  Chicago.  In 
my  district,  where  Mr.  Fillmore  resides,  we 
have  now  a  united  party.  All  the  opponents 
of  modern  Democracy  now  join  hands  to  wrest 
the  Government  from  the  hands  of  the  present 
corrupt,  profligate,  and  imbecile  Administra¬ 
tion. 

Compromises,  compacts,  and  pledges,  have 
been  broken  by  the  Democratic  party,  led  on 
by  the  slave  power.  The  public  money  has 
been  squandered.  Corruption  has  crept  into 
nearly  every  department  of  the  public  service. 
Disunion  raises  its  hydra  head  in  the  capital 
of  the  nation.  The  American  party,  that  has 
been  the  last  to  yield  its  assent  to  the  necessity 
of  uuitedly  resisting  the  aggressions  of  the 
Slave  Democracy,  is,  I  am  happy  to  say,  giv¬ 
ing  up  its  organization,  to  unite  with  the  friends 
of  Republican  liberty,  to  effect  a  change  in  the 
administration  of  the  Government.  A  change  is 
essential  to  the  stability  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  Union. 

We  must  unitedly  resist  the  Democratic 
party,  and  redeem  the  country  from  the  thral¬ 
dom  into  which  it  has  been  placed  by  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  corrupt  leaders.  Why  should  we  thus 
unite  ?  I  answer,  because  the  perilous  condi¬ 
tion  in  which  the  country  is  placed  demands 
it. 

Who  is  responsible  for  the  agitation  of  the 
slavery  question  ?  Who  obstruct  the  public 
business  by  agitation?  Who  threaten  dis¬ 
union  ?  Who  are  sectional  in  their  speeches 
and  action  ?  and  who  seek  to  extend  the  area  of 
slavery  and  slave  representation  in  Congress  ? 

I  propose  briefly  to  answer  these  questions. 
There  is  a  wide  field  for  collecting  material  to 
use  in  this  discussion,  extending  back  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years,  yet  I  do  not  propose  to 
go  back  of  the  compromise  measures  which 
were  passed  in  1850.  The  passage  of  the  fugi¬ 
tive  slave  law  ;  the  Texas  boundary  bill ;  the 
donation  to  Texas  of  $10,000,000  to  purchase 
a  peace  with  her,  when  we  owed  her  nothing; 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District 
of  Columbia;  and  the  admission  of  California 
as  a  free  State — known  as  the  “  compromise 
measures”  of  1850 — were  regarded  as  a  “final 
adjustment  and  permanent  settlement”  of  the 
slavery  agitation  in  Congress.  These  meas¬ 
ures  were  passed  by  the  joint  co-operation  and 
votes  of  both  Whigs  and  Democrats.  In  1851, 
Democrats  and  Whigs  entered  into  the  follow- 


4 


ing  written  agreement  to  preserve  inviolate  the 
compromise  of  1850 : 

44  The  undersigned,  members  of  the  Thirty- 
first  Congress  of  the  United  States,  believing 
that  a  renewal  of  sectional  controversy  upon 
the  subject  of  slavery  would  be  both  danger¬ 
ous  to  the  Union  and  destructive  of  its  objects, 
and  seeing  no  mode  by  which  such  controver¬ 
sy  can  be  avoided,  except  by  a  strict  adher¬ 
ence  to  the  settlement  thereof  effected  by  the 
compromise  acts  passed  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  do  hereby  declare  their  intention  to 
maintain  the  said  settlement  inviolate,  and  to 
resist  all  attempts  to  repeal  or  alter  the  acts 
aforesaid,  unless  by  the  general  consent  of  the 
friends  of  the  measure,  and  to  remedy  such 
evils,  if  any,  as  time  and  experience  may  de¬ 
velop. 

“  And  for  the  purpose  of  making  this  resolu¬ 
tion  effective,  they  further  declare,  that  they 
will  not  support  for  office  of  President  or 
Vice  President,  or  of  Senator  or  of  Repre¬ 
sentative  in  Congress,  or  as  member  of  a 
State  Legislature,  any  man,  of  whatever  par¬ 
ty,  who  is  not  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  dis¬ 
turbance  of  the  settlement  aforesaid,  and  to 
the  renewal,  in  any  form,  of  agitation  upon 
the  subject,  of  slavery 


(l  Henry  Clay. 

Howell  Cobb. 

C.  S.  Morehead. 
William  Duer. 
Robert  L.  Rose. 

H.  S.  Foote. 

W.  C..  Dawson. 
James  Brooks. 
Thomas  J.  Rusk. 
A.  H.  Stephens. 
Jeremiah  Clemens. 
Robert  Toombs. 
James  Cooper. 

M.  P.  Gentry. 
Thomas  G.  Pratt. 
Henry  W.  Hilliard. 
William  M.  Gwin. 
F.  E.  McLean. 
Samuel  Eliot. 

A.  G.  Watkins. 
David  Outlaw. 


H.  A.  .Bullard. 

C.  H.  Williams. 

T.  S.  Haymond. 

J.  Phillips  Phoeuix. 
A.  H.  Sheppard. 

A.  M.  Schermerhorn. 
David  Breck. 

John  R.  Thurman. 
James  L.  Johnson. 

D.  A.  Bokee. 

J.  B.  Thompson. 
George  R.  Andrews. 
J.  M.  Anderson. 

W.  P.  Mangum. 

John  B.  Kerr. 
Jeremiah  Morton. 

J.  P.  Caldwell. 

R.  1.  Bowie. 

Edmund  Deberry. 

E.  C.  Cabell. 
Humphrey  Marshall. 
Allen  F.  Owen.” 


Alexander  Evans. 

In  1852,  the  Whig  and  Democratic  National 
Conventions,  which  put  in  nomination  General 
Scott  and  General  Pierce  for  President,  both 
approved  of  these  measures,  and  agreed  to  them 
as  a  final  settlement  of  the  Slavery  question, 
both  in  Congress  and  out  of  it.  The  Dem¬ 
ocratic  party  in  their  National  Convention  at 
Baltimore,  in  1852,  pledged  themselves  to  the 
nation,  as  follows,  to  wit: 

u  That  Congress  has  no  power  under  the  Con* 
1  Btitution  to  interfere  with  or  control  the  domes- 
1  tic  institutions  of  the  several  States,  and  that 
1  such  States  are  the  sole  and  proper  judges  of 
1  everything  appertaining  to  their  own  affairs, 
1  not  prohibited  by  the  Constitution  j  that  all 


1  efforts  made  to  induce  Congress  to  interfere 
‘  with  questions  of  slavery,  or  to  take  incipient 
1  steps  in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to  lead 
4  to  the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  conse- 
4  quences  5  and  that  all  such  efforts  have  an  in- 
4  evitable  tendency  to  diminish  the  happiness  of 
4  the  people,  and  endanger  the  stability  and  per- 
4  manency  of  the  Union,  and  ought  not  to  be 
4  countenanced  by  any  £nend  of  our  political 
4  institutions. 

44  !  hat  the  foregoing  proposition  covers,  a, id 
4  was  intended  to  embrace,  the  whole  subject  of 
4  the  slavery  agitation  in  Congress;  and,  there* 

4  fQre,  the  Democratic  party  of  the  Union,  stand- 
4  ing  upon  the  national  platform,  will  abide  by 
4  and  adhere  to  the  faithful  execution  of  the 
4  acts  known  as  the  compromise  measures  set- 
4  tied  by  the  last  Congress,  the  act  for  the  re- 
4  claiming  of  fugitives  from  service  included, 

4  which  act,  being  designed  to  carry  out  au  ex- 
4  press  provision  of  the  Constitution,  cannot 
4  with  fidelity  thereto  be  repealed  or  so  changed 
4  as  to  destroy  or  impair  its  efficiency. 

44 Resolved ,  That  we  will  resist  all  attempts 
4  at  renewing,  in  Congress  or  out  of  it,  the 
‘.slavery  agitation,  under  whatever  shape  and 
4  color  the  attempt  may  be  made.” 

And  the  Whig  party  in  the  same  year,  at  the 
same  place,  resolved  and  pledged  themselves 
as  follows,  to  wit :  ^ 

44  That  the  series  of  measures  commonly 
4  known  as  the  compromise,  including  the  fu- 
4  gitive  slave  law,  are  acquiesced  in  by  the 
4  Whig  party  of  the  United  States,  as  a  settle* 
4  meut,  in  principle  and  substance,  a  final  set- 
4  tlement  of  the  dangerous  and  exciting  ques- 
4  tions  which  they  embrace;  and  so  far  as  the 
4  fugitive  slave  law  is  concerned,  we  will  main* 
4  tain  the  same,  and  insist  on  its  strict  enforce- 
4  ment,  until  time  and  experience  shall  dernon- 
4  strate  the  necessity  of  farther  legislation  to 
4  guard  against  evasion  or  abuse, not  impairing 
4  its  present  efficiency;  and  we  deprecate  all 
4  further  agitation  of  slavery  questions  as  dan- 
4  gerous  to  our  peace,  and  will  discountenance 
4  all  efforts  at  the  renewal  or  continuance  of 
4  such  agitation,  in  Congress  or  out  of  it,  what- 
4  ever,  wherever,  or  however  the  attempt  may 
4  be  made;  and  we  will  maintain  this  system  as 
4  essential  to  the  nationality  of  the  Whig  party 
4  and  the  integrity  of  the  Union.” 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Thirty-second  Con¬ 
gress,  in  December,  1851,  Lynn  Boyd,  a  South¬ 
ern  slaveholder  and  Democrat,  was  promptly 
elected  Speaker,  without  any  agitation  of  slave¬ 
ry,  or  any  filibustering  for  delay  on  the  part 
of  the  Whigs,  who  were  then  in  a  minority. 
Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  House,  the 
following  resolutions  were  offered  by  Mr.  Jack- 
son  of  Georgia,  and  subsequently  passed  by 
the  joint  votes  of  Whigs  and  Democrats,  viz  : 

44 1.  Resolved ,  That  we  recognise  the  binding 
4  efficacy  of  the  compromises  of  the  Constitu- 
4  tion,  and  believe  it  to  be  the  intention  of  the 
1  pebplo  generally;  as  we  ‘declare  it  tb  be  Ours 


5 


‘  individually,  to  abide  such  compromises,  and 
‘  to  sustain  the  laws  necessary  to  carry  them 
‘  out;  the  provision  for  the  delivery  of  fugitive 
‘  slaves,  and  the  act  of  the  last  Congress  for 
‘  that  purpose,  included  ;  and  that  we  deprecate 
‘  all  further  agitation  of  the  question  growing 
1  out  of  that  provision  ofthe  questions  embraced 
‘  in  the  acts  ofthe  last  Congress  known  as  the 
‘  compromise,  and  of  questions  generally  con- 
1  nected  with  the  institution  of  slavery,  as  un- 
1  necessary,  useless,  and  dangerous. 

u  II,  Resolved ,  That  the  series  of  acts  passed 
‘  during  the  first  session  of  Thirty-first  Con 
‘  gress,  known  as  the  compromise,  are  regarded 

‘  as  a  FINAL  ADJUSTMENT  AND  A  PERMANENT 

1  settlement  of  the  questions  therein  em- 
‘  braced,  and  should  be  maintained  and  exe- 
1  cuted  as  such.” 

The  final  vote  was  taken  on  these  resolutions 
April  5,  1852,  and  among  the  names  recorded 
in  their  favor,  (  Congressional  Globe ,  pages  982, 
983,)  I  find  Thomas  S.  Bocock,  Democratic 
candidate  for  Speaker,  John'S.  Caskie,  Henrj 
A.  Edmundson,  Charles  J.  Faulkner,  John 
Letcher,  and  Thomas  H.  Bayly,  of  Virginia; 
John  S.  Phelps,  of  Missouri ;  Thomas  B.  Flor¬ 
ence,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Thomas  L.  Clingman, 
of  North  Carolina;  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of 
Georgia  ;  Williamson  R.  W.  Cobb,  George  S. 
Houston,  and  William  R.  Smith,  of  Alabama  ; 
John  C.  Breckinridge  and  R.  H.  Stanton,  of 
Kentucky;  Willis  Allen  and  William  A.  Rich 
ardson,  of  Illinois ;  Harry  Hibbard,  of  New 
Hampshire  ;  Colin  M.  ingersoll,  of  Connecti¬ 
cut ;  George  W.  Jones  and  Frederick  P.  Stan¬ 
ton,  of  Tennessee;  John  G.  Davis,  Q.  L.  Dun¬ 
ham,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana  ; 
and  Moses  McDonald,  of  Maine. 

Here  was  a  solemn  promise  on  the  part  of  all 
the  above-named  Democrats  that  they  would 
keep  the  peace,  and  not  agitate  any  more  the 
dangerous  and  exciting  subject  of  slavery.  It 
was  declared  to  be  a  “  finality,”  and  a  u  perma¬ 
nent  settlement”  of  the  whole  subject  of  slavery 
agitation.  This  mutual  bond  of  peace  was 
given  in  the  most  solemn  form  between  Whigs 
and  Democrats,  by  a  vote  of  100  to  65.  There 
was  a  seeming  concurrence  of  the  two  great 
leading  parties  of  the  country  in  what  had 
been  done,  and  an  apparent  determination,  on 
the  part  of  both,  that  no  subject  .should  again 
be  introduced  into  Congress  to  reopen  this  pro¬ 
lific  source  of  discord  between  the  different  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  Union. 

In  common  with  many  others,  I  did  not  ap¬ 
prove  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  the  Texas 
boundary  bill,  nor  the  donation  of  $10,000,000 
to  Texas  ;  but  inasmuch  as  they  had  become 
established  laws  of  the  land,  I  tacitly  acquiesced 
in  them  ;  there  was  a  general  acquiescence  in 
them  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  a  disposi 
tion  to  look  forward  with  hope  that  our  be¬ 
loved  country  would  have  a  peaceable  and 
prosperous  course  for  many  years. 

How  suddenly  were  all  these  promises  broken  1 


Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  Millard  Fillmore, 
and  a  few  others,  agreed  to  this  compromise  in 
good  faith,  and  would  have  gladly  seen  it  ad¬ 
hered  to,  but,  most  unfortunately,  very  few  of 
the  men  engaged  in  it  had  sufficient  firmness 
to  resist  subsequent  events. 

Suddenly,  and  without  the  least  necessity  or 
provocation,  the  country  was  startled  with  a 
proposition  to  reopen  the  slavery  agitation  in 
a  more  aggravated  form  than  ever  before. 
The  Kansas  Nebraska  bill  was  introduced  by 
Senator  Douglas,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Territories,  sustained  a3  a  Democratic 
measure  by  President  Pierce,  and  adopted  by 
Democratic  and  Southern  Whig  votes.  The 
bond  of  peace  agreed  to  in  1 850— ’5 1— ?5 2  was 
broken,  and  broken,  too,  by  the  very  men  who 
had  pledged  themselves  not  again  to  agitate 
the  slavery  question.  Among  the  members 
who  had  voted  for  the  compromise  resolutions, 
declaring  that  the  adjustment  should  be  a 
“  final  settlement,”  I  find  the  following  names 
recorded  in  favor  of  repealing  the  Missouri 
compromise — ( Congressional  Globe ,  1854,  page 
1254) — viz:  Thomas  S.  Bocock,  John  S.  Cas¬ 
kie,  Henry  A.  Edmundson,  Charles  J.  Faulk¬ 
ner,  John  Letcher,  and  Thomas  H.Bayly,  or  Vir¬ 
ginia  ;  John  S.  Phelp3,  of  Missouri ;  Thomas  B. 
Florence,  of  Pennsylvania;  Thomas  L.  Cling¬ 
man,  of  North  Carolina  ;  A.  H.  Stephens,  of 
Georgia ;  W.  R.  W.  Cobb,  George  S.  Houston, 
and  William  R.  Smith,  of  Alabama;  John  C. 
Breckinridge  and  R.  H.  Stanton,  of  Kentucky  ; 
Willis  Allen  and  William  A.  Richardson,  of 
Illinois  ;  Harry  Hibbard,  of  New  Hampshire  ; 
Colin  M.  Ingersoll,  of  Connecticut  ;  George  W. 
Jones  and  F.  P.  Stanton,  of  Tennessee,;  John 
G.  Davis,  C.  L.  Dunham,  and  Thomas  A.  Hen¬ 
dricks,  of  Indiana  ;  and  Moses  McDonald,  of 
Maine.  The  final  vote  on  the  passage  of  the 
bill  was  taken  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
May  22,  1854.  This  breach  of  faith  broke 
down  the  old  Vrhig  party,  nearly  ruined  the 
Democratic  party,  and  threw  the  flood-gates  of 
agitation  wide  open.  As  Mr.  Fillmore  justly  ob¬ 
serves,  Pandora’s  box  was  opened,  and  no  meas¬ 
ure  was  passed  so  fruitful  of  evil  as  has  been 
the  passage  of  this  bill.  Agitation  has  been  rife 
ever  since,  and  no  human  being  can  foretell  the 
time  when  fraternal  feeling,  concord,  and  har¬ 
mony,  will  again  be  restored  to  the  country. 
Certainly  not  till  the  Republican  party  takes 
control  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  Fillmore,  in  his  patriotic  letter  to  the 
Union  Committee  in  New  York,  justly  ob¬ 
serves  : 

u  All  must  remember  that  in  1849  and  1850 
1  the  country  was  severely  agitated  on  the  dis- 
1  turbing  question  of  slavery.  That  contest 
1  grew  out  of  the  acquisition  of  new  territory 
1  from  Mexico,  and  a  contest  between  the 
‘  North  and  the  South  as  to  whether  slavery 
‘  should  be  tolerated  in  any  part  of  that  terri- 
‘  tory.  Mixed  up  with  this  was  a  claim,  on 
1  the  part  of  the  slaveholding  States,  that  the 


f  provision  of  the  Constitution  for  the  ren- 

<  dition  of  fugitives  from  service  should  be 
i  made  available,  as  the  law  of  1793  on  that 
i  subject,  which  depended  chiefly  on  the  States’ 
‘  officers  for  its  execution,  bad  become  iuope- 
i  rative,  because  States’  officers  were  not  obliged 
i  to  perform  that  duty. 

“  After  a  severe  struggle,  which  threatened 
‘  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  Congress  finally 
1  passed  lav/s  settling  these  questions;  and  the 
‘  Government  and  the  people  for  a  time  seemed 
i  to  acquiesce  in  that  compromise  as  a  final 
‘  settlement  of  this  exciting  question ;  and  it  is 
i  exceedingly  to  be  regretted  that  mistaken 
i  ambition,  or  the  hope  of  promoting  a  party 
(  triumph,  should  have  tempted  any  one  to 
i  raise  this  question  again.  But  in  an  evil 
‘  hour  this  Pandora’s  box  was  again  opened 
i  by  what  I  conceive  to  be  an  unjustifiable 

*  attempt  to  force  slavery  into  Kansas  by  a 
‘  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise,  and  the 
‘  floods  of  evils  now  swelling  and  threatening  to 
‘  overthrow  the  Constitution,  and  sweep  away 
i  the  foundation  of  the  Government  itself,  and 
i  deluge  this  land  with  fraternal  blood,  may  all 
1  be  traced  to  this  unfortunate  act.  Whatever 
i  might  have  been  the  motive,  few  acts  have 
i  ever  been  so  barren  of  good,  and  so  fruitful 
i  of  evil. 

<l  The  contest  has  exasperated  the  public 
1  mind,  North  and  South,  and  engendered  feel- 

<  ings  of  distrust,  and  I  may  say  hate,  that  I 
i  fear  it  will  take  years  to  wear  away.  The 
i  lamentable  tragedy  at  Harper’s  Ferry  is 
‘  clearly  traceable  to  this  unfortunate  contro- 

*  versy  about  slavery  in  Kansas ;  and  while 
‘  the  chief  actor  in  this  invasion  has  exhibited 
i  some  traits  of  character  which  challenge  our 
i  admiration,  yet  his  fanatical  zeal  seems  to 
1  have  blinded  his  moral  perceptions,  and  hur- 
‘  ried  him  into  an  unlawful  attack  upon  the 

*  lives  of  a  peaceful  and  unoffending  commu- 

*  nity  in  a  sister  State,  with  the  evident  inten- 
1  tion  of  raising  a  servile  insurrection,  which 
1  no  one  can  contemplate  without  horror;  and 
i  few,  T  believe  very  few,  can  be  found  so  indif- 
i  ferent  to  the  consequences  of  his  acts,  or  so 
1  blinded  by  fanatical  zeal,  as  not  to  believe 
1  that  he  justly  suffered  the  penalty  of  the  law 
6  which  he  had  violated.” 

The  Whig  party  North  and  South  having 
been  completely  broken  up  by  the  perpetration 
of  this  great  wrong,  and  the  subsequent  at¬ 
tempt  of  the  slave  power,  backed  up  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  force  slavery 
upon  an  unwilling  people  in  Kansas,  and  by 
fraud  and  violence  to  make  Kansas  a  slave 
State,  a  new  phase  was  given  to  public  affairs 
and  to  the  parties  in  the  country.  The  Demo¬ 
cratic  party  became  greatly  divided  and  dis¬ 
tracted  by  this  outrage,  and  would  also  have 
been  entirely  demolished,  if  Southern  States 
had  not  rallied,  to  the  support  of  that  party. 
A II  the  Southern  States,  with  the  exception  of 
Maryland,  having  gone  over  to  the  support  of 


the  Democratic  party,  and  the  aggressions  of 
the  Southern  propagandists  of  slavery  in  their 
attempt  to  send  slavery  everywhere,  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  party  became  essentially  a  Southern  sec¬ 
tional  party,  inasmuch  as  very  few  public  men 
South,  of  either  party,  could  be  sustained  by 
their  constituents  in  opposing  these  outrageous 
measures  in  Congress,  and  the  frauds  and  ras¬ 
calities  committed  in  Kansas.  All  the  com¬ 
pacts,  resolutions,  and  agreements,  to  keep  the 
peace,  so  recently  made,  having  been  broken, 
confidence  was  greatly  impaired,  indeed  I 
may  say  entirely  destroyed,  in  the  Democratic 
party,  and  in  this  state  of  things  a  new  party 
was  formed,  called  the  Republican  Party,  to 
resist  the  Democratic  party  in  its  new  and 
alarming  attitude  of  pro-slavery  aggression. 

This  new  party  was  made  up  of  Northern 
men  from  the  ruins  of  the  old  Whig  party,  the 
Free-Soil  Democracy  and  all  friends  of  true  re¬ 
publican  liberty  who  desired  to  see  the  Sham 
Democracy  overthrown,  and  the  National  Gov¬ 
ernment  brought  back  to  the  principles  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson  and  the  fathers  of 
the  Republic. 

The  Republican  party  recognises  the  right  of 
the  majority  to  govern,  and  their  power  to  en¬ 
force  that  right  against  all  attempts  at  disun¬ 
ion,  come  from  what  quarter  they  may.  It  is 
based  upon  the  great  fundamental  principle 
upon  which  the  National  Government  rests, 
that  the  Constitution,  and  all  laws  made  in  pur¬ 
suance  thereof,  are  to  be  faithfully  observed 
and  enforced,  and  it  demands  economy  and  a 
rigid  accountability  on  the  part  of  all  public 
officers.  . 

The  Republican  party  insists  that  slavery 
originated  in  force,  by  the  stronger  against 
the  weaker  party,  and  not  by  natural  right ; 
that  it  is  maintained  and  upheld  by  oppression 
and  wrong,  and  against  the  law  of  nature. 
This  usurped  ownership  in  man  is  not  that 
kind  of  property  which  is  recognised  by  the 
general  consent  of  mankind.  The  advanced 
state  of  civilized  society  does  not  recognise 
the  right  of  one  man  to  own  another  man 
against  his  will.  The  inalienable  right  of  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  is  con¬ 
ceded  to  all.  The  right  of  every  man  to  him¬ 
self,  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  own  ingenuity 
and  industry,  are  among  the  natural  rights  of 
every  person  made  in  the  image  of  God.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not  rec¬ 
ognise  any  vested  right  of  property  in  slaves. 
It  treats  them  as  persons  held  to  service  or 
labor,  and  not  as  property.  The  word  slave 
does  not  occur  in  the  Constitution,  and  I  will 
not  go  one  step  beyond  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  to  uphold  this  usurpation  and 
wrong. 

The  Republican  party  was  organized  in 
1854— ’55,  upon  the  platform  of  liberty  and 
independence,  to  maintain  the  union  of  the 
States  and  the  rights  of  the  States ;  freedom 
of  speech  and  the  press  ;  to  resist  the  spread 


7 


of  slavery  and  the  aggressions  of  the  slave 
power ;  the  equal  rights  of  all  persons  to  im¬ 
partial  protection  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  religious  freedom;  and  of 
all  American  citizens,  whether  native  or  natu¬ 
ralized,  to  the  free  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise  and  the  enjoyment  of  its  benefits  ; 
and  requiring  no  test  for  office  except  honesty, 
capacity,  and  devotion  to  American  institu¬ 
tions. 

Accessions  have  continually  been  made  to 
the  Republican  party,  ever  since  its  organiza¬ 
tion.  it  has  won  to  the  support  of  its  princi¬ 
ples  good  men,  from  time  to  time,  from  all  the 
other  parties,  until  it  not?  embraces  the  best 
men  of  the  country.  It  has  become  a  compact 
and  overshadowing  organization,  sufficiently 
powerful  to  take  possession  of  and  to  admin¬ 
ister  the  Government,  upon  the  great  principles 
of  liberty,  equality,  and  justice,  as  embodied  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Con¬ 
stitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  prospect  of  success  for  any  party  was 
never  more  flattering.  All  the  doubtful  States 
are  now  considered  certain  for  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin.  Illinois  is  waking  up  to  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  contest.  Her  prairies  are  on  fire 
for  honest  old  Abe,  and  will  give  a  rousing 
majority.  The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  Indi¬ 
ana.  i  he  Fillmore  men  of  1856,  in  these  two 
States,  come  in  nobly  to  the  support  of  Lincoln 
and  Hamlin.  Ohio  was  never  doubtful  for 
any  Republican  candidate.  The  people  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  keystone  State  of  the  Union, 
are  awake  to  the  importance  of  redeeming 
their  State  from  the  thraldom  of  1856,  and  the 
frauds  and  corruptions  of  President  Buchan¬ 
an’s  Administration.  They  will  not  be  likely 
to  play  again  into  the  hands  of  the  Democrats 
by  supporting  any  third-party  candidates.  In 
New  Jersey,  the. Jersey  Blues  are  organizing, 
and  will  speak  for  themselves  in  due  time. 

The  Republican  cause  is  onward.  Every 
man  who  desires  good  government  has  an  im¬ 
portant  political  duty  to  perform,  and,  with  a 
united  and  determined  effort,  the  country  will 
be  redeemed  from  the  misrule  of  modern  De¬ 
mocracy. 

Extract  from  a  Speech  of  Hon.  Abra¬ 
ham  Lincoln. 

It  will  not  be  inappropriate  for  us  to  add  to 
this  hasty  sketch  an  extract  from  one  of  Mr. 
Lincoln’s  extempore  speeches  in  the  campaign 
of  1858,  which  was  republished  in  our  columns 
a  few  days  since,  and  eliciteff  the  highest  en¬ 
comiums  from  delegates  and  visiters  from 
other  States.  The  Declaration  of  Independ¬ 
ence  has  rarely  received  a  more  thoughtful 
and  at  the  same  time  a  more  glowing  tribute : 

“The  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
1  formed  by  the  representatives  of  American 
‘  liberty  from  thirteen  States  of  the  Contedera- 
*  c y,  twelve  of  which  were  slaveholding  com- 


1  munities.  We  need  not  discuss  the  way  or 
1  the  reason  of  their  becoming  slaveholding 
1  communities.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  that  all 
1  of  them  greatly  deplored  the  evil,  and  that 
‘  they  placed  a  provision  in  the  Censtitution 
‘  which  they  supposed  would  gradually  remove 
1  the  disease,  by  cutting  off  its  source.  This 
1  was,  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.-  So  gen- 
*  eral  was  the  conviction — the  public  determi- 
‘  nation — to  abolish  the  African  slave  trade, 

1  that  the  provision  which  I  have  referred  to 
‘  as  being  placed  in  the  Constitution,  declared 
1  that  it  should  not  be  abolished  prior  to  the 
‘  year  1808.  A  constitutional  provision  was 
‘  necessary  to  prevent  the  people,  through 
‘  Congress,  from  putting  a  stop  to  the  traffic 
‘  immediately  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Now,  if 
1  slavery  had  been  a  good  thing,  would  the 
‘  Fathers  of  the  Republic  have  taken  a  step 
‘  calculated  to  diminish  its  beneficent  inilu- 
‘  ences  among  themselves,  and  snatch  the 
‘  bond  wholly  from  their  posterity  ?  These 
1  communities,  by  their  representatives  in  old 
‘  Independence  Hall,  said  to  the  whole  world 
1  of  men,  1  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evi- 
1  dent :  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that 
‘  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  cer- 
1  tain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are 
‘  life  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.’ 
‘  This  was  their  majestic  interpretation  of  the 
1  economy  of  the  Universe.  This  was  their 
‘  lofty  and  wise  and  noble  understanding  of  the 
1  justice  of  the  Creator  to  His  creatures.  [Ap- 
1  plause.]  Yes,  gentlemen,  to  all  His  crea- 
1  tures,  to  the  whole  great  family  of  man.  In 
‘  their  enlightened  belief,  nothing  stamped 
i  with  the  Divine  image  aud  likeness  was  sent 
into  the  world  to  be  trodden  on,  and  degra- 
‘  ded,  and  imbruted,  by  its  fellows.  They 
‘  grasped  not  only  the  whole  race  of  man  then 
‘  living,  but  they  reached  forward  and  seized 
‘  upon  the  farthest  posterity.  They  erected  a 
‘  beacon  to  guide  their  children  and  their  chil- 
‘  dren’s  children,  and  the  countless  myriads 
1  who  should  inhabit  the  earth  in  other  ages. 
i  vV  ise  statesmen  as  they  were,  they  knew  the 
‘  tendency  of  prosperity  to  breed  tyrants  ;  and 
1  so  they  established  these  self  evident  truths, 

‘  that  when,  in  the  distant  future,  some  man, 
1  some  faction,  some  interest,  should  set  up  the 
‘  doctrine  that  none  but  rich  men,  or  none  but 
‘  white  men,  or  none  but  Anglo-Saxons,  were 
1  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
1  happiness,  their  posterity  might  look  up  again 
1  to  the  Declaration  of  independence,  and  take 
1  courage  to  renew  the  battle  which  their 
‘  fathers  began,  so  that  truth,  aud  justice,  and 
1  mercy,  aud  all  the  humane  aud  Christian  vir- 
‘  tues,  might  not  be  extinguished  from  the 
1  land ;  so  that  no  man  hereafter  would  dare  to 
1  limit  and  circumscribe  the  great  principles 
‘  on  which  the  temple  of  Liberty  was  being 
1  built.  [Loud  cheers.] 

“Now,  my  countrymen,  if  you  have  been 
‘  taught  doctrines  conflicting  with  the  great 


8 


i  landmarks  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
1  ence ;  if  you  have  listened  to  suggestions 
‘  which  would  take  away  from  its  grandeur, 

1  and  mutilate  the  symmetry  of  its  proportions; 

1  if  you  have  been  incliued  to  believe  that  all 
1  men  are  not  created  equal  in  those  inaliena- 
1  ble  rights  enumerated  by  our  chart  of  liberty, 

*  let  me  entreat  you  to  come  back.  Return  to 
1  the  fountain  whose  waters  spring  close  by  the 
1  blood  of  the  Revolution.  Think  nothing  of 
1  me — take  no  thought  for  the  political  fate  of 
1  any  man  whomsoever — but  come  back  to  the 
1  truths  that  are  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
1  pendence.  You  may  do  anything  with  me 
‘  you  choose,  if  you  will  but  heed  these  sacred 
‘  principles.  You  may  not  only  defeat  me  for 
1  the  Senate,  but  you  may  take  me  and  put  me 
1  to  death.  While  pretending  no  indifference 
<  to  earthly  honors,  I  do  claim  to  be  actuated, 

1  in  this  contest,  by  something  higher  than  an 
(  anxiety  lor  office,  i  charge  you  to  drop  every 
‘  paltry  and  insignificant  thought  for  any  man’s 
1  success,  it  is  nothing;  I  am  nothing;  Judge 
‘  Douglas  is  nothing.  But  do  not  destroy  that 
1  immortal  emblem  of  Humanity ,  the  Declara- 
4  lion  of  American  Independence .” 

Letter  from  Mr,  Lincoln. 

The  Illinois  Slaats  Anzeiyer  gives  publicity 
to  the  following  letter  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  written 
about  a  year  ago,  upon  a  question  of  public 
policy  winch  was  then  discussed  hi  several  of 
the  States,  and  which  is  disapproved  in  one  of 
the  declarations  of  the  Chicago  platform: 

“Springfield,  May  17,  1859. 

“Dear  Sir:  Your  letter,  in  which  you  in 
‘  quire,  on  your  own  account  and  in  behalf  of 
4  certain  other  German  citizens,  whether  I  ap- 
‘  prove  or  oppose  the  constitutional  provision 
‘  in  relation  to  naturalized  citizens  which  was 
4  lately  enacted  in  Massachusetts,  and  whether 


4  I  favor  or  oppose  a  fusion  of  the  Republicans 
4  with  the  other  'Opposition  elements  in  the 
4  campaign  of  I860,  has  been  received.  • 

“  Massachusetts  is  a  sovereign  and  inde- 
4  pendent  State,  and  I  have  no  right  to  advise 
4  her  in  her  policy.  Yet,  if  any  one  is  desirous 
4  to  draw  a  conclusion  as  to  what  I  would  do 
4  irom  what  she  has  done,  I  may  speak  without 
4  impropriety.  I  say,  then,  that  so  far  as  I  un- 
4  derstand  the  Massachusetts  provision,  I  am 
4  against  its  adoption,  not  only  in  Illinois,  but 
‘  in  every  other  place  in  which  1  have  the  right 
4  to  oppose  it.  As  I  understand  the  spirit  of 
4  our  institutions,  it  is  designed  to  promote  the 
‘  elevation  of  men.  1  am,  therefore,  hostile  to 
4  anything  that  tends  to  their  debasement.  It 
4  is  well  known  that  1  deplore  the  oppressed 
4  condition  of  the  blacks,  and  it  would,  there- 
‘  fore,  be  very  inconsistent  for  me  to  look  with 
‘  approval  upon  any  measure  that  infringes  upon 
4  the  inalienable  rights  of  white  men,  whether 
4  or  not  they  are  born  in  another  land  or  speak 
4  a  different  language  from  our  own. 

“  In  respect  to  a  fusion,  I  am  in  favor  off  it 
4  whenever  it  can  be  effected  on  Republican 
4  principles,  but  upon  no  other  condition.  A 

*  fusion  upon  any  other  platform  would  be  as 
4  insane  as  unprincipled.  It  would  thereby  lose 
4  the  whole  North,  while  the  common  enemy 
‘  would  still  have  the  support  of  the  entire 

•  South.  The  question  in  relation  to  men  is 
4  different.  There  are  good  and  patriotic  men 
4  and  able  statesmen  in  the  South  whom  I 
4  would  willingly  support  if  tlmy  would  place 
4  themselves  on  Republican  ground ;  but  I 
4  shall  oppose  the  lowering  of  the  Republican 
4  standard  even  by  a  hair's- breadth. 

“  I  have  written  in  haste,  but  t  believe  that 
4  I  have  answered  your  questions  substantially. 

44  Respectfully,  yours, 

“ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

44  Dr.  Theodor  Canisius.” 


PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1  860. 

REPUBLICAN  EXECUTIVE  CONGRESSIONAL  COMMITTEE. 

Hon.  Preston  King,  N.  Y.,  (Chairman,)  J.  W.  Grimes,  Iowa,  L.  F.  S.  Foster,  Conn.,  on  the  part  of  the  Sennte  ;  Hon.  E. 
E.  Washburoe,  Illinois,  John  Covode,  Penn.,  (Treasurer,)  E.  G.  Spaulding,  N.  Y.,  J.  B.  Alley,  Mass.,  David  Kilgore,  Ind., 
J.  L  N.  Stratton,  N .  J. ,  on  the  part  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

During  the  Presidential  Campaign,  Speeches  and  Documents  will  be  supplied  at  the  following  reduced  prices:  Eight 
pages,  per  100,  50  cents  ;  sixteen  pages,  per  100,  $1.00  ;  tw'enty-four  pages,  per  100,  $1.50.  Address  either  of  the  above 
Committee  "  GEORGE  HARRINGTON,  Secretary. 


